HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The $150,000 Advent victory by Kale’s Angel on Friday at Oaklawn Park was about so much more than his becoming a stakes winner, proving he could handle dirt, and possibly setting himself up for a two-turn test in a prep for the Arkansas Derby.
The win was for Kale Robinson.
Robinson, 17, died in February. Tom Kagele, a relative who co-owns Kale’s Angel, named the horse for the teenager who was a competitive fisherman based in Texas.
Robinson won the Texas Bass Nation High School State Fishing Championship in 2022 and qualified for the national championship in 2022 and 2023, according to an account of his accomplishments from Beaty Funeral Home. Robinson was a member of the Winnsboro High School fishing team.
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“His family was all here - they drove up from Texas for the race,” trainer Peter Miller said Saturday. “It was a special deal to win with him. Kale’s parents were here and his grandparents were here. It was a very special day.”
Kale’s Angel was purchased at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales auction of 2-year-olds in training in April.
“We went to OBS with Tom and Tom went literally to buy a colt and name him Kale’s Angel,” Miller said. “He wanted to buy a good colt and name him for Kale and for this to happen the way it has, it’s been nice, and hopefully it gives a little uplift to the parents.”
Kale’s Angel was making his first start on dirt in the Advent, a 5 1/2-furlong race for 2-year-olds that served as the first stakes race of the meet at Oaklawn. He flew home by 5 3/4 lengths and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 93.
“He’s a dirt horse now,” Miller said.
Kale’s Angel began his career on turf in Southern California, winning his maiden in his second start in a five-furlong race at Del Mar.
“I was excited to try him on the dirt because he’s trained so well on the dirt,” Miller said. “The only reason we tried him on the grass was the five-eighths at Del Mar. I wanted to run him shorter at that point in his training. He was not finishing his works, and so that was the shortest distance we could find.
“Once we tinkered with his equipment - removed the blinkers and changed the bit on him - he started to finish and then he won on the grass. And then, you’re like, ‘How do you take him off the grass, now that he’s won on the grass?’ But we had been wanting to try him on the dirt because he’d trained so good on the dirt and he’s bred for the dirt, being by Complexity out of a Malibu Moon mare. He’s really top-and-bottom dirt.”
Miller, who is based in Southern California, has a division at Oaklawn. He said Kale’s Angel, who was a $150,000 purchase at auction, is scheduled to remain in Arkansas.
“We’re excited to find a race for him in a month or so,” Miller said.
It could come over a route of ground.
“Aren’t they all - 2-year-olds coming 3 - two-turn prospects?” Miller quipped. “You know, look, he’ll certainly have an opportunity at some point. I don’t know when. He ran decently long on the grass. I think we will certainly try him at some point. I think we’ll definitely try him two turns. It depends on what’s coming up, whether we run him long next time or sprint him again.”
Miller has nine horses on the grounds at Oaklawn.
“We flew him in and one other colt that’s going to run next week,” Miller said Saturday. “We vanned seven. We’ve got nine over here and are hoping to build it up to right around 20.
“The money is good and the racing is great. It’s an exciting meet and we hope to do well and keep coming back. The last four or five years we’ve been coming here.”
Kale’s Angel, it seems, might be poised for a big meet with continued heavenly help from his angel, Kale Robinson.
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